The best of both worlds

By Carolyn Sloan

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Thank goodness for Nova Scotia. It’s brought one Canadian closer to finding a home away from home.

Living in Canada hasn’t always been easy for Dieter Jilge and his family. He and his wife emmigrated from Germany in 1986, settling in Northern British Columbia. There they spent the next 15 years on a 240-acre property in the land of seven-month winters and summers that belonged solely to the black flies.

“We did not sit outside in 15 years because of the bugs,” says Dieter. “I had a shop and a house. Everything was set, and I said is that it?”

Eventually, they decided to move back to Germany to be closer to their families. But after returning for several years, they found it to be overcrowded and the cost of living too high. Once more, they sold their house and came back to Canada.

“You can not afford it anymore,” Dieter explains. “It’s so expensive, it’s crazy over there.”

The idea to come to Nova Scotia was inspired by a friend who had a summer cottage in Shelburne. So in October 2006, the family began to search the province for a spot near the ocean. The Annapolis area, with its history and good growing climate had a familiar feel to it.

“It’s a little bit like the area in Germany [where we lived],” says Dieter. “Our valley in Germany must have looked like this 500 years ago.

“Annapolis is the oldest settlement in Canada. There’s lots of historic, old buildings. This is our thing.”

Now the Jilges wake up every morning to a historic retreat of their own in Upper Granville. Their house, built in 1797, sits on six acres of property, and is only a stone’s throw away from the Annapolis River.

In addition to improving their quality of life, running a business has become much easier. A master signmaker with 35 years experience, Dieter recently started a graphics and signs shop just outside of Annapolis Royal similar to those he owned and operated in BC and in Germany. Even though he has only been open a short time, it’s already been an incredibly positive experience.

“The day I put up my sign, people were coming in just out of curiosity,” says Dieter.

“[The word is spreading] and from these kinds of conversations, you get work.”

In Annapolis, he has found a niche market for a variety of services, including magnetic vehicle signs, decals, labels, digital imaging, and window lettering. With a brand new 54-inch printer, Dieter even has commissions for lettering and decorations for boats and small airplanes.

“It’s creative,” he explains. “It’s not all the same all the time. It’s the variety of work you do.

“You have to have a feel for how to put this stuff together.”

Dieter began his training in graphic design in Germany, where he was an apprentice for three years in a shop similar to his own. He also went to masters school to receive his certification in graphic design, which was a requirement to open up a graphics business in Germany.

While it’s only natural to miss their homeland now and then, it’s the opportunity to be surrounded by natural wealth and to enjoy a high quality of life that has brought the Jilges here to rural Nova Scotia. In a way, it offers the best of both worlds.

“You always miss home,” says Dieter, “but if we feel really homesick, we go back for two weeks and that’s enough.

“The lifestyle and the friendliness of the people, this is a lot better in Canada.”